Determination of antioxidant migration levels from polyethylene films into legumes

Polyethylene packaging is a widely used packaging material in a wide range of foods such as bread, pulses, and meat products. These materials, which are produced in the form of small granules, are produced with different techniques depending on their usage area. Methods such as extrusion, blow molding and molding are the most frequently used of these production forms. As a result of some studies, it has been determined that some additives used during the production and called as masterbatch have a contact with food and they pass through food and beverages in this way. In this study, polyethylene samples containing 1000 ppm and 3000 ppm of Irganox 1010 (pentaerythritoltetrakis(3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate) and Irganox 1076 (octadecyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate) were prepared. Then, five different legume samples (rice, cracked wheat, corn, white beans, and chickpea) were sandwiched between two circular pieces of polyethylene films, with the contact layer facing the sample. Samples were stored at two different temperatures (4 ºC and 25 ºC) for 30 days. Migration quantities were determined using GC-MS and comparative evaluations were made. Migration amounts from polyethylene samples containing 1000 ppm Irganox 1010 at 4 °C are between 364-642 ppb, while migration amounts from polyethylene samples containing 1000 ppm Irganox 1010 are between 407 and 682 ppb. In these conditions, the highest migration was 682 ppb from 3000 ppm polyethylene to cracked wheat in 30 days, while the lowest migration was 364 ppb from 1000 ppm polyethylene to white beans in 10 days. Transitions from polyethylene samples containing 1000 ppm Irganox 1010 at 25 °C are in the range of 423 - 827 ppb, and the migration amounts from polyethylene samples of 3000 ppm are in the range of 512 - 848 ppb. In these conditions, the highest migration was 848 ppb from 3000 ppm polyethylene to cracked wheat in 30 days, while the lowest migration was 423 ppb from 1000 ppm polyethylene to white beans in 10 days.